Blog

Added 3 yearss ago

Liebherr-GB
was proud to be the sponsors of the ‘My Future My Choice’ event at Vertikal Days.

the UK's biggest trade for the Lifting and Access Industry

Corrugated board supplied by Die cutting of board provided by

60 Primary School Children

The recently held Vertikal Crane exhibition at Haydock Park
saw Liebherr sponsor a 2 day event with My Future My Choice to host a group of
9-10 years olds from Allanson Street Primary School, St Helens and a group of
12-14 year olds from Maghull High School in Liverpool.

My Future My Choice is a charity aimed at promoting engineering
to young people between the ages of 9 and 16. By bringing schools and businesses
together to focus on an active practical project the children involved gain an
insight into what a potential career in engineering might involve as well as
developing interpersonal relationships and gaining confidence.

After an initial introduction by Hugh Thomas (MFMCDirector
and Workshop Leader)which
saw him demonstrate the basic engineering principles of pully systems and
hydraulics, the children were divided into teams of 6 and tasked, along with a
Liebherr-GB apprentice or staff member, with building a crane from a cardboard
template using a system of water filled syringes and pipes to simulate the
hydraulics.

Crane templates designed by Dr Glyn Griffiths, University of Bath

The afternoon session saw the ‘Crane Off’ where each team was
tasked with operating their crane to pick up a ball and drop it into a bucket,
the winners being those that completed it in the shortest time.

Teams got the opportunity to
visit the exhibition stands to see ‘real live’ cranes and find out whatever
facts they could about them.

30 Secondary School Children

Fun demonstrations of mechanical advantage using hydraulics.

The days culminated in a presentation on the Liebherr stand
where again the children were invited to ‘take the mic’ and sum up their experiences.
The winning teams were then presented with their prizes but all children went
away with a Liebherr goody bag.

Ed Hudson, General Manager of the Crane aftersales for
Liebherr-GB, commented that “It was a real privilege to be involved with My
Future My Choice. Our apprentices did us
proud with their technical knowledge and their ability to engage with and mentor
the children to help make the event a great success for all involved.”

Hugh
Thomas summed up the event by saying “Support from Liebherr, through funding
and a team of apprentices has been invaluable in developing our Lifting
Aspirations Education Resource for school children.

Support
like this from within the industry sector is essential if children are going to
be excited by science and technology. Working alongside the diverse team from
Liebherr has helped children see engineering and specifically the lifting
industry as a lifestyle choice for their future. Liebherr also showcased how
the event could be used to build leadership and team-working skills for their
apprentices as well as encouraging the development of these attributes in the
school children.